Unlikely Guardian
by yornma
Summary: What was supposed to be routine retrieve mission turns out to be a bit more than Peter bargained for as he finds a survivor of a terrible massacre and soon finds himself paying for her care and trying to keep Yondu from selling her to the highest bidder... (more summary inside, this is Part 1 of 3 of The Harebrained Schemes Series)
1. Chapter 1

**Unlikely Guardian – What was supposed to be routine retrieve mission turns out to be a bit more than Peter bargained for as he finds a survivor of a terrible massacre and soon finds himself paying for her care and trying to keep Yondu from selling her to the highest bidder. Peter is the first to witness her unusual talent, but how much convincing will it take for the Ravager's leader to not kill her?**

**OC, Peter Quill/Star Lord, Yondu, Kraglin, The Collector**

**Author's Note: This was originally posted as a revision of Hair Brained Scheme, but after some serious re-reading I decided to break it up into a series. So this is Chapter 1 of 2, Part 1 of 3 of Harebrained Schemes.  
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**I own nothing but my original character, Adra.**

**Please R&R**

****Many, many thanks to Fairytale Warrior for letting me whine, finding my writing mistakes and pointing out that I apparently have a grammar troll lurking in my writing. :)** **

* * *

><p>-Mon- 1657-<p>

-Knar IV : 6th Level of Knar Ore Mines –  
>-Peter-<p>

Yondu had explained it as a simple job, but it required everyone. There were guards to take out, ore to steal and an exit to guard. The bounty would be 50,000 units for group of them. Which meant he could get more supplies and fuel. Fuel was running low. So he took the job, not overly happy to be working with the alien who raised him, but it was a job. And these were one of the times when he couldn't be too picky.

Or so he thought.

What they found was twisting narrow passageways leading deeper and deeper underground, the dim mine lights barely provided enough to see outlines of the men in front of him.

One of jagged passageways was so narrow they had to file through one by one. A smell permeated the air, something stagnant and it wasn't the saltiness of sweat or dampness in the air. It wasn't under the passageway gave way to a much larger room and flashlights were turned on that he came to the sickening realization.

It smelled like death.

"Come on guys, we got ore to git." Yondu's voice gruff voice bounced off the walls and high ceiling. Spurring them on.

The ore was at the end of the room, as the Ravagers spread out getting more courage, Quill found himself meandering slightly to the right, the containers were just 12 meters in front of him, but he felt eyes on him.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose. He grabbed his element gun raised ready to shoot when he saw two dim purple orbs about 9 meters away, he walked toward it

The orbs got a little bit bigger and blinked slowly. Blinked? He frowned, lifting up the scanner and looking at the infrared, there was a faint signature. Whatever, or whoever it was, wasn't going to be alive very much longer.

He moved a bit quicker, sweeping his flashlight ahead of him. Looking back and forth between his scanner and what was in front of him. Carefully stepping around the bodies that were strewn out in front of him.

5 meters

He put the flashlight down for a moment, he lost the infrared image. He caught sight of the faint purple orbs. He moved closer still.

3 meters

The ore container was not far from him either, but he ignored it. There was something alive here and he was bound and determined to find it.

1 meter

Hopefully it wasn't anything reptilian. He didn't mind rodents, but scaled creatures had a tendency to give him the creeps.

1/2 meter

He swept the flashlight slowly in front of him. He turned the light off for a moment hoping the orbs would show up, after several heartbreaking moments they did. He shone the light in their direction he heard a faint noise, like a whimper.

He stooped down, it was then he saw the owner of the orbs and the pool of purple blood surrounding the poor creature.

Without thinking he turned off the flashlight and went to scoop up the being, a raspy wheeze came from it- her. As he could tell by the tension in her facial features, she was very nearly on Death's door.

"You're going to be okay, kiddo." he said softly so only she could hear.

A sigh rippled through her body and she went limp in his arms.

He turned around to head back when he met the growling red eyes of his Elder

"'N what do yew thing yewr doin'?"

"She's alive." He gathered the girl closer to him, afraid to rustle her too much.

"An'?" The Centaurian's voice was indignant.

"She's badly injured."

"_An'_?"

"We should at least get her to a medical facility." he suggested, hopefully.

"Hear that boys? Quill here wants to be a hero." The leader of the Ravagers called behind him.

The men behind him snickered.

He walked away carrying the girl.

"'here yew going, boy?"

"She's going on the ship, with me."

A shrill whistle resounded in the air, the faint red glow of an arrow sliced through the dimness. Hovering near the unconscious girl's neck.

"How 'bout I jus put 'er out of 'er misery here and now?" he suggested darkly

_Think fast, Pete._

"And lose a big score?"

"Wha' yewr sayin'?" Yondu's quered curiously.

"Look around you, everyone of them look like her. She's probably the last of her kind. I'm sure someone will be interested in owning the last of her species. Whatever it is."

The arrow hovered dangerously close for a few moments longer. Peter was very much thankful the girl didn't know how much danger she was in.

Uneasily silence for a moment before Yondu whistled calling his arrow back, bursting into a cheerful grin.

"That's why I kept yewr 'round as a younglin' Quill, yew got balls. Come boys, let's get the ship loaded up."

* * *

><p>-Mon - 1715-<p>

-Yondu's Ship-

-Peter-

The infirmary only confirmed his initial concerns as he watched the Ravager's medic who was a yellow skinned man with dark eyes, brow furrowed as he intently ran the scanner over the girl. She hadn't moved since they had come aboard. The artificial lights of the ship showed the dark bruises under her silver skin.  
>"She gonna's need professional care, we're 'bout a day out from Tanaris, there's a medical facility there. Best I can do is keep 'er still."<p>

"Boys, we're setting a course for Tanaris. 'N Quill?"

He tore his eyes away from the girl lay so damn still on the cot, looking too small, too frail, just too young to have to be going through this.

"Yeah?"

"Yew better hope yew have the units to pay for it."

He sighed, there goes the supply ruin and fuel stop.

* * *

><p>- Wed - 0703-<br>-Tanaris : Medical Facility –  
>-Adra-<p>

She heard voices floating above her, none of which she recognized.  
>Words came to her but made no sense<p>

broken,

ruptured,

lone survivor

She tried to crawl her way back to consciousness, but something made her feel sleepy again and she drifted back into the darkness.

When she awoke again it was because the pain had invaded her sleep. Ripping away unconsciousness. Her mouth opened letting out an involuntary cry as her back spasmed . Her breath came in ragged gasps as she tried to think of anything beside the pain. She caught a whiff of something strong and sterile.

She tried to open in her eyes only to be nearly blinded.  
>Too bright. too bright. <em>toobright.<em>

She grunted in protest, trying to turn her head away from the light.

Something shielded the light from her eyes, she dared open them again to see a figure looming above her.

"Is that better?" a feminine voice floated above her  
>She nodded weakly, blinking for a moment allowing her eyes to focus, the fuzziness faded and she could actually see the figure was a pink skinned nurse who softly smiled at her with yellow orange eyes<p>

"These will protect your eyes from the light, I know your species are quite sensitive to bright light.  
>What's your name?"<br>"Adra." she rasped, her throat convulsed in protest and she gagged, waves of nausea washed over her and her stomach lurched as she involuntarily sat up and vomited.

Hands were on her back, rubbing gently while she emptied the contents of her stomach, what little if anything there was, into the container that was held in front of her. The smell of bile assaulted her nasal passages, her stomach rolled and pitched in protest. She dry heaved for a few moments more until there was nothing but stomach acid coming up.

The sudden movements caused the pain to come alive like a fire spreading rapidly in her back, legs and arms. A strangled cry of pain escaped her lips, what little energy she had had long since left her as she collapsed wearily into the hands on her back, gasping hands eased her back down into a laying position.

"Shh.." the voice cooed.

Something cool brushed her forehead and laid there.

"I'm S'nara. I'm a nurse, you're on Tanaris in a hospital." a pause, someone fiddled with something nearby, the coolness was removed for a moment and came back, she shivered slightly with relief. It felt so good. She couldn't remember anything feeling so good.

"Do you remember how you go here?"  
>She frowned trying to but only remembering glimpses, the ship landing, her parents arguing, the blue skinned woman grabbing her by the hair, her parents , the blood-<p>

She gagged at the mental image.

There was way too much blood, she had tried to look away but the cold metallic hand held her chin with a such force, as much as she tried she couldn't not see the weapon come down..

_Nonotmyparentswhywasthishappening?!_

She flinched.

"It's okay. You're safe." the soothing voice brought her back to the present, wiping the cloth across her forehead, "You were in pretty bad shape when you first got here. Your guardians brought you in."

Her brow crinkled slightly at the term 'guardians'.

Who had found her and brought her here?

Before should could even try to process the other questions that came, sleepiness tugged at her again and before she could even try to protest it pulled her down again.

She heard music, it was faint, the rhythm and words were unfamiliar and she heard soft humming and tapping. It still smelled of sterile, but there was something else something she couldn't quite identify. Like a musk almost, but entirely different.

She opened her eyes to see someone sitting next to her, she would have been startled and moved if her body was cooperating, but right now it was just numb and numb was good. Numb meant no pain and after the last time she woke up she didn't want to feel that again.

She decided to study the creature beside her, it was humming and tapping contently. He, or what she thought was a he, her eyesight was still hazy, but from what she could make out he wore a bright red coat and was tapping his pinkish fingers onto the arm of the wooden chair.

She wanted to know where the noise was coming from and moved her head just slightly only to have the pain come back tenfold searing up and down her spine, she screamed.

The being left the chair in a hurry.

She mercifully lost consciousness soon after.

Music lured her from her sleep again. This time it is different than before, the melody had changed and the rhythm slower. The notes were full of, something she couldn't quite place, sadness maybe?

It was then she noticed something was on her ears, something soft and a bit scratchy, the music seemed to be originating from it.

She dared to open her eyes and squinted, making out shapes in the brightness. The being from earlier was in the chair, but it was holding some sort of contraption, she followed the wires with her eyes and realized they belonged to whatever it was that was on her ears.

She looked at the being again, confused, curious. Was this one of her guardians the nurse had mentioned?

The song changed, the rhythm was more upbeat. She nodded her head slightly to it, closing her eyes for a moment. Something clicked loudly beside her and the music suddenly stopped.

She opened her eyes again, the being was looking down (?) at her.

"Hey, kiddo, you doin' any better?" a soft masculine voice said above her.

She frowned, squinting, trying to get her vision to change it to something other than a cream colored blob.

"Hang on," the voice said and something was placed over her eyes. The world came into focus and she could she now see a face and a furrowed brow," better?"

She blinked and tried to nod, but found that her head was just too heavy and her throat only convulsed slightly making her gag just a little.

"Don't try to talk, well," his voice hesitated for a moment, thoughtfully" you can't actually, not just yet. "

She blinked, purple eyes widened in surprise.

What was she going to do if she couldn't talk?

Her pulse quickened as panic began to fill her body.

As if sensing her sudden panic, he added reassuringly, " You damaged your vocal chords screaming.

I guess whatever happened to you was pretty traumatic."

She felt tears well up in her eyes as the memories threatened to overwhelm her. She tried to blink them away but a few escaped. She wanted to turn away ashamed, but found she couldn't. He wiped them away.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. You'll be able to talk in a few days and I'm sure you'll talk my ear off." He smiled cheerfully at her." Just get some rest, okay?"

He clicked a button on the device and it started playing music again. She listened allowing her eyes to close and for the first time in however long she relaxed. She felt oddly comfortable under the being's gaze, it was almost like she was safe. The tension eased form her body just slightly as she drifted off.

Something tugged at her consciousness. The musky smell was there again and she decided that it was somewhat comforting. There was another smell of sweat, and the bitterness of blood. She tried to turn away from it, but smell was potent. Her stomach pitched slightly as nausea made itself known.

Voices were arguing, above her, one was low and raspy and hinted on the edge of threatening, the other was softer, insistent.

"..insane..? "

"...a week.."

Heavy tension hung in the air during a pregnant pause in the arguing.

She frowned, trying to focus on what they were saying.

"...babysittin' service..." the unfamiliar voice rumbled.

"I know." this voice was familiar and it sounded a bit, guilty?

"...she's costin' more units than yew can afford, _boy_." the edge in the voice was definitely threatening and it was there and then she didn't like whoever the owner of that voice was. She silently willed the owner of the voice to go away.

A resigned sigh.

"We can't just leave her here."

Realization came to her slowly, they were talking about her. They couldn't leave her here, could they?

A rustling noise.

".. tag along .."

An indignant snort.

".. useful.. engine room.."

"Okay, okay."

"… _playin_'" another threat, this one more prominent a rustle and then a shrill whistle that caused her to cringe. A gentle throb in the back of her head activated. Combined with the now insistent nausea, she wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

Go away!

"_Alright."_

Another whistle, rustling and the sound of footsteps leaving. The tension left the room. She relaxed slightly as the smell dissipated, her stomach settled. The throbbing dulled.

A relieved sigh.

She opened her eyes carefully this time, not wanting to be caught listening in, nor wanting to be the cause of the conflict. The light was a bit dimmer this time, but no less blinding.

A sudden annoyed growl escaped her throat, this was beginning to get really annoying.

"Whoa, " the being nearly jumped out of the chair, then settled back into in with a nervous chuckle "hey, didn't know you were wake. "

He turned and placed something over her eyes and predictably her eyes adjusted. The cream colored being was there with the red coat again.

"So you heard that, huh?," she blinked, as a response, he rubbed the back of his neck looking down," Sorry. The good news is you'll be outta here in another day or so."

He gave her a cheerful grin.

She blinked at him curiously.

"The bad news is that you're kinda stuck with me afterwards, so... yeah." he shrugged.

She frowned, shifting slightly, she wanted out of this bed dammit and _now. _ But the dull throbbing in her back warned her she wasn't ready just yet.

She decided to focus on what didn't hurt and what she could move. Wiggling her fingers, no pain there. That was good. Down to her toes, they were cold, but that wasn't abnormal and she could move them which meant she could probably sit up safely.

Debating for a moment, she decided to give it a go, gathering her arms to her sides and pushing herself into a sitting position tentatively.

He leaned forward and adjusted the pillows behind her so she could sit up.

"Better?"

She allowed herself a nod and looked around the room, taking everything in quietly. It smelled like medicine, sickness and well, sterile, she crinkled her nose. The walls were white, reflecting the sunlight, no wonder she was nearly blinded. There were various contraptions to her left, one of which had a small tube with dark liquid running from it into the crook of her arm.

She frowned, moving to touch it.

A hand stopped her, placing itself on her arm and over the needle.

She scowled.

"Nope."

She gave a frustrated huff, trying to push the hand away.

"Not happening."

She growled.

"You haven't been awake for a full day, much less an hour and you're already giving me attitude," he chuckled, lightly." I just saved your life, kiddo."

She turned her head to stick her tongue out at him.

"Seriously?"

She took his distraction and pried his fingers away, tugging at the tube. It pulled from underneath her skin uncomfortably, but she was insistent and a smile victorious smile spread across her lips when it finally came out.

"Suit yourself, just don't complain to me when you're in pain." came the resigned reply

She ignored him, turning the silver metal needle over examining it carefully. Her eyes narrowed searching for something, they widened when she found it, her index finger and thumb catching on a tiny screw and she began to twist.

"What are you -"

Her fingers came alive, quickly dismantling the needle, each piece being placed carefully on her lap until she was left with the tube. She glance at it with mild interest and put it to the side, leaving the tube to drip green liquid on the sheet.

His eyes widened, but quickly recovered realizing the IV was dripping on the bed,"You might want to-"

She cocked her head to the side, frowning as her nimble fingers flew over each individual piece of the IV needle, examining it carefully as if one of the pieces would hold the answers to the mystery of the universe. Before he could finish his sentence, she had reassembled it, sticking the tube back into the needle.

"Well, that was just _weird_."

She looked at him, quizzical.

* * *

><p>-Fri- 1045-<p>

-Tanaris : Medical Facility –  
>-Adra-<p>

She tugged at the shirt she was wearing in distaste. It much too big and hung loosely at her knees. She scowled.

"Don't tug at it, that's a perfectly good shirt."

She pulled at it again, looking up at him with a smug look.

He ran his hand over his face in exasperation, "Just be glad they didn't see what you did to the IV needle. Or the monitor for that matter."

He had frozen in horror when she had decided to pull one of the monitors close and dismantle it with a deftness he was beginning to find a bit unnerving. How she managed to put it back together before the nurse and doctor came in with the official discharge paperwork he'll never know. Managing to look innocent, with her hands folded in her lap as she intently watched the conversation between the three beings.

He knew he had to get her out of there before she decided to take something else apart.

He nodded his understanding and took the painkillers from the nurse and muttered a thanks and a promise to look after her.

* * *

><p>-Fri-1345-<p>

-Knowhere: Marketplace-

-Adra-

"The Collector is not ready to see you yet Yondu Undonta." The pretty pink girl/woman said stiffly, "I will summon you when he is ready."

The blue man grumbled to himself and caught her looking at him cautiously.

"The sooner she's gone the better." he muttered.

Peter ignored his Elder and took the opportunity to glance at the silver skinned girl that had been his loyal mute shadow the past few hours. He had managed to keep her from getting close to anything that could be taken apart, keeping a loose grip on her wrist as they walked through the crowd. He didn't want to hurt her, but wanted to keep her close nonetheless.

"Are you hungry?"

She nodded eagerly.

They walked through the various food booths, some of which she vaguely recognized.

One booth with a rather large blob of an orange skinned creature caught her attention, she pulled away from his grasp slightly, drawing closer trying to figure out what form of possible animal the creature was cooking, it did squirm slightly when he- she assume it was a he- toss it onto the crackling flames coming from the container, just a little bit closer and she could almost -

An uproarious noise came from behind her and she all but shrieked in surprise. Her heart beat thudded in her ears. Her purple eyes wide in alarm, they darted back and forth as if looking for a place to hide.

"Sorry kiddo, guess one of those spices got up my nose," he snuffled, wiping his nose on his left sleeve. She scowled.

"That seems to be your favorite expression." he noted lightly.

She deepened the scowl, letting her nose crinkle in disgust.

"That," he sniffled again, eyes squinting for a moment as if going to do it again, she tensed, making a move away from him. He blinked a few times before his expression turned back to normal," was a sneeze."

She tilted her head, giving him a quizzical gaze.

"It's uh, apparently unique to Terrans. When we smell something that tickles our nasal passage, we do that."

She shot him a dubious look, turning her attention back to the orange being. To her disappointment the animal had been cooked and cut up.

"What? Don't tell me your species doesn't do something unique."

She tugged gently at the grip on her wrist.

"What?"

She tugged again, frowning at his hand.

He let go reluctantly. Not entirely convinced she wasn't going to run off and take something apart. She stood where she was and flexed her slender silver fingers, stretching them until the tips were quivering with effort.

"What are you-"

She huffed impatiently as if telling him to shut up and wait.

White claws grew from her finger tips, extending a few inches into the air. Curling just slightly inward. He had no doubt that they were as sharp as they looked.

"Well, that_ is_ unique."

She grinned up at him showing off two equally sharp and elongated fangs. Her lips curled back over her fangs and she retracted her claws, waiting for him to hold her wrist again. He did so carefully, a bit in awe that she was very much capable of defending herself without his help and yet she was letting him lead her around.

After a few moments of roaming aimlessly and to her growing agitation they stood in front of a brightly colored booth. Even he had to wince at the clashing colors he could only imagine was it was doing to her sensitive eyes as she tried to squint and finally gave up closing her eyes for a few seconds and them opening them slightly to look and closing them again.

"Sorry," he apologized softly, moving between her and the booth so she would stop the pattern of closing her eyes and peering at the booth with squinted eyes. Some of the species in the area would easily perceive it as a threat even from someone as small as herself. And that was possibly the last thing they needed at this moment and he knew Yondu was in no mood to spend more units on getting him bailed out of much of anything much less her.

She peered up at him as if afraid he would move, then widened her eyes a bit when he didn't move.

"They have really great noodles and veggies here."

He got a head tilt and a perplexed purple gaze.

"Noodles?" he asked.

She huffed and rolled her eyes, as if to say of course I know what noodles are you idiot.

"Veggies? Vegetables? They're grown in the ground and harvested."

She raised an eyebrow at him and then nodded as if trying to understand.

"You don't have veggies on your homeworld?" he asked in disbelief.

The mention of which caused her to tense rigidly.

"Sorry."

She scowled at him as if reprimanding him for saying sorry. He frowned and then realized she wanted to eat already.

"Okay, Okay." he turned and waited for the slimy yellow skin creature to turn on of it's six tentacle-like eyes on him.

Moment later he had two plates in his hands and was weaving through the sitting area to find them a spot.

"Viola! Noodles and veggies." he said, putting the plate in front of her as she settled into a somewhat unsteady wooden chair.

She sniffed it cautiously and blanched, pushing it away quickly as though it had uttered something to offend her. Her senses were on full alert, causing the hair on her head to rise in alarm. The smell assaulted her nostrils, causing her stomach to churn violently.

He was too busy shoving food into his mouth to notice anything but the plate move away from her.

"Nu-uh. I spent good units on it." he insisted finishing his bite, pushing the plate back in front of her.

She shot him a pleading look.

"Nope." he went back to his noodle dish happily.

She growled her discontent. Whether at the pasta or at him, he didn't care.

"You've never had veggies before. At least try it."

She poked at one of the offending "veggies" with her sharpened utensil, looking up at him to see if he was satisfied with her attempt.

"That's playing with it."

She stabbed it with the utensil and drew back as if it was going to attack her.

"Still playing." he commented, bored.

She scowled at him.

"It's not going to kill you. Oh wait," he suddenly clutched his chest made a gagging noise and fell over.

She peered over at the side of the table, worried.

He opened one eye and grinned.

"See? I'm still alive." he sat upright again and continued to dig in.

She huffed, still not convinced and proceeded to have a stare off with the revolting dish. Amethyst eyes still wary even as Peter finished his plate.

"You're just being stubborn."

She crossed her arms across her chest.

"Seriously?"

She glared at him and then at the pasta and shuddered violently.

He sighed, resigned, "I'll eat it all, if you eat just one bite. _One_ bite."

She moved to push it away again but he blocked her.

"One. Bite. It won't kill you. Promise."

She shot him a dubious look.

Then hesitantly she reached for the sharpened utensil that still had a now cold orange slither of a vegetable on it. Looking up at him as if trying to plead her case one last time.

"Go on." he coaxed.

She opened her mouth, the short black hair on her head was now standing upright and was giving her a very hardened look.

Very slowly and very dramatically, she opened her mouth and placed the contents of the utensil in her mouth. Gagging when the offending object touched her tongue.

"Stop it." he reprimanded, his tone still soft.

The utensil dropped onto the plate with a clank. Purple eyes went wide with something close to fear as she looked around as if trying to find something to expel the disgusting food into.

"Nu-uh. Swallow."

She did so loudly, choking back a gag.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" he pulled the plate towards himself.

The hair on her head flattened suddenly and a hiss escaped her lips.

He chuckled to himself, as he finished off her plate glancing up at her, he couldn't help but notice she was a tad shade paler.

* * *

><p>-Thur -1450-<br>-Knowhere: The Collector's-  
>-Adra-<p>

The stiff pink skinned girl/woman had summoned them not soon after she had choked down her first "vegetable". The taste of which was still stuck to her tongue much to her dismay. She had made an attempted to brush off the taste with the sleeve of her shirt, but it somehow made it worse.

The building was ominous, looming in the darker corner of the walkway. Once they entered she was thankful there was no artificial light and she was able to stop squinting. But her thankfulness was short-lived as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. As the blurs of light began to take shape into the twisted and grotesque beings that were trapped/contained in the various shaped glass containers that littered the place.

They walked by one that looked at her with dull glassy dark eyes and leered at her, its face twisting into a grimace. She stepped closer to the Terran, screwing her eyes shut she wanted no part of this place. A rather unpleasant sour smell drifted in and teased her nostrils.

It was the smell of fear and something she knew all too well; death.

The room swayed slightly to the left and she tried to overcompensate for it, but ended up stumbling. Peter steadied her, giving her a concerned look. She wanted to stay close to him, but she was still mad at him for convincing her to eat that abhorrent pasta dish. Brushing his concern away, she followed where the assistant led them.

Deeper and deeper they went into lair-like room, she felt eyes on her. She tried not to look at anything but the path in front of them. But her eyes strayed and she looked up, there was a container nearly dead center of them with a long slender reptilian creature. She looked at it for a moment and it opened it's gaping mouth to reveal a bit gaping hole of a mouth of hundreds of teeth that glinted in the dim light.

Her breath caught in her throat and she smacked a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. The Centaurian turned briefly and shot a glare her way. Peter gently pushed her forward, she pitched slightly his hand grabbed her shoulder steadied her.

Nausea wrapped it's tendrils around her, bile tickled the back of her throat. She swallowed it back. Knowing this was not the time nor place to get sick.

"May I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector." The girl/woman said, gesturing grandly to male humanoid with white hair that bowed in a flourish before them.

"Mr. Yondu Undonta." he said, one of the many furs that covered him brushed pasted her and she swore it moved. The room swayed to the right this time, she followed it wearily.

"I got yew a speciman to look at." The Centuarian said.

"So I see," his gaze turned to her, she tried to look away but found herself some how pulled by an unknown force to look into the seemingly dead gray eyes, he walked around her slowly his eyes slithered over her, she felt a sickening pull towards him,"a female adolescent Onari, well this _is_ a rare find. She would be a good specimen to add to my… collection." Taneleer Tivan said smoothly his voice ran like hot grease over her.

He stopped at her side, taking her hand in his, and looking over her arm. His touch was cold, like death. She tried unsuccessfully to suppress a violent shudder.

"Where did you find her?"

"What's it matter?"

The being wearing the white fur seemed nonplussed by the challenging tone, he let her arm go limply to her side. She would have been grateful if his eyes would have stopped probing her. She felt so damn vulnerable and naked in his presence. As if she could see to her core, the thought made her suddenly angry despite the rolling nausea that occupied her stomach and the sudden swimming feeling she had, she managed a half-hearted growl.

The Collector stopped suddenly in his tracks, gray eyes widened but returning to normal as a smile snaked across his lips, there was no warmth in the smile or his dead eyes.

_His cold dead eyes_.

She shivered, suddenly bitterly cold. Gathering her arms weakly to her chest she attempted to fold them, but gave up halfway through as another wave of nausea rolled over her.

" She's a feisty one, but her spirit can easily be broken," he said with a wave of his hand as if she was nothing more than a thing to be collected and put on display. She idly watched his movement not aware that her gaze had shifted off to his right, she blinked trying to return it to the strange figure, but finding it hard to focus. The room swam lazily before her.

"She would be a fine specimen…" He resumed his walk around her, nodding to himself before stopping in front of the leader of the Ravagers with finality" … if she was not damaged."

" Yew kiddin' right?" the Centaurian spat.

"No. I am afraid our deal is off."

"What?!"

"I want my specimens to be pure, without bruises. This one simply will not do. She's too damaged."

He nodded towards the Onari girl, who collapsed suddenly as if to prove his point. Peter dove to catch her before she hit the floor. Gathering her in his arms.

"I'll show yew damaged.." Yondu snarled angrily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Unlikely Guardian – What was supposed to be routine retrieve mission turns out to be a bit more than Peter bargained for as he finds a survivor of a terrible massacre and soon finds himself paying for her care and trying to keep Yondu from selling her to the highest bidder. Peter is the first to witness her unusual talent, but how much convincing will it take for the Ravager's leader to not kill her?**

**OC, Peter Quill/Star Lord, Yondu, Kraglin, The Collector**

**A/N: Again I don't own GOTG, just my character Adra.**

**Chapter 2/2 - This section is complete! **

**Part 1 of 3 of the series of Harebrained Schemes**

****Many, many thanks to Fairytale Warrior for letting me whine, finding my writing mistakes and pointing out that I apparently have a grammar troll lurking in my writing. :)****

* * *

><p>-Fri 1457-<p>

-Knowhere: The Collector's -

-Peter-

He had watched her with growing concern, there was something off about her behavior. Her purple eyes had glowed dimly once they walked into the building, but they had begun to take on a more glazed look the longer they were there.

He resisted the urge to pull her closer to him when the Collector reached out and touched her arm. And it did not escape his notice the way she shuddered at the humanoid's touch.

His hand slipped to his weapon, resting on the holster, fingers curling around the familiarity of his element gun.

Why he had even suggested selling her, he didn't know.

_To save her life._

He had to appeal to his Elder to save her and this was the best he could do and now they were trying to sell her.

He felt a twinge of guilt, but forced himself to return to the task at hand.

His face tensed in concentration, he didn't trust this "Collector" dude not to hurt her, she had already been in the medical facility on Tanaris for a week. The last thing she needed was to end up in oddly dim and somewhat creepy this place.

His tension was relived momentarily by her low growl of distaste, as the white fur coated "man" continued to circle her. He suppressed a smirk and relaxed his grip on his weapon, letting his hand fall to his side again.

Moments later he watched worriedly as her gaze began drifting lazily away and her feeble attempts at trying to return it, but to no avail. She was swaying oh so slightly side to side as if captured by some unknown rhythm.

Maybe they had left the medical facility too soon..

He moved closer to her, she didn't seem to notice as her swaying deepened. Her head lulled back for a moment, dim light revealing the sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her silver skin was turning a dull almost sick shade of dark gray.

Okay that was _definitely_ not good.

".. too damaged." the finality of the Collector's words hit him and before he could open his mouth to protest the strange man's judgment, her knees gave in and she collapsed.

He caught her just before she hit the ground.

His Elder didn't even seem to acknowledge it, instead threw the side of his coat back with a low snarl, "I'll show yew damaged..."

"Time to go, kiddo." Peter said to the girl in his arms as he made a beeline for the exit, a shrill whistle sounding behind them.

She groaned softly and shivered as a response.

He pulled her just a tad closer to his chest trying to keep the lights of the walkway off her eyes. It was in doing so he noticed how warm she felt.

* * *

><p>-Sat 0905-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Infirmary-

-Adra-

It was hot.

So incredibly hot.

Like she was too close to a fire.

No, she was burning like she was on fire.

The next thing she noticed was the brightness behind her closed eyes.

Why was it so hot and so damned bright?

Was someone trying to broil her alive?

She squeezed her eyelids shut in a vain attempt to block out the light and tried to move away from the heat, but the moment she did nausea came to the forefront like an unwelcomed guest. She tried to fight it off, but a bitter smell like blood and sweat and all things foul hit her nose and she jerked to the side and vomited.

Panting for a moment trying to catch her breath, her stomach churning violently like a storm. She gagged at the taste smell of the bile in the back of her throat, which caused her to retch again.

Then a smell assaulted her nose, she had experienced it earlier that day.

The icy cold tendrils of recognition touched her spine, leaving her cold to the core. She shuddered violently remembering the pasta dish and the frigid, limp inanimate orange colored thing - vegetable- that dangled at the end of her sharpened utensil.

Her stomach cramped painfully, causing her to fold over in an attempt to ease the pain.

She should be home right now her mother would offer to rub her back, soothing the pain. Offering her some lolan root to help calm the increasingly strong undulating waves of nausea that were currently causing her to stomach to scream in mutiny.

She laid there for a few moments, curled up in a fetal position, hoping the worst of it would pass.

A low groan escaped her lips.

Why couldn't she just be home?

Surely her parents were worried about her.

It was that growing concern about how much her parents would worry that caused her to choke back a cry of pain, pushing herself up.

The ground tilted, she screwed her eyes shut trying very hard tell herself it wasn't the ground. It was her and she needed to get a hold of herself.

Placing her hands at her sides and gripping hard, she tried to concentrate but before she could even form the now sluggish thoughts of how far away exactly she was from home.

The ground gave way and leaving her for a terrifyingly awesome moment weightless. She was drifting further and further down (?) when something hit her head with a resounding and somewhat sickening thud.

Stars flashed briefly on the side of her head for a moment before darkness quickly claimed her.

* * *

><p>-Sat 1117-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Infirmary-

-Peter-

"What do you mean she _fell off_?" he asked incredulously when the medic tried to explain the swaths of cloth on the side of her face.

"She tried to get up and fell." The yellow skinned dark eyed part-time medic of the Ravagers stood unflinching at the angry Terran's words. He glanced at the curled up prone figure of the silver skinned girl and glared at the medic in disbelief.

Peter knew he should have insisted upon proper medical care, but he was honestly broke at this point and the Ravager's Leader wasn't giving up on the idea of selling her, despite her current condition- which had worsened since getting back on the ship.

"If _anything_ happens to her-" he started his voice taking a surprisingly threatening tone.

Damn, he had been raised by Yondu after all.

" I know, I know. 'I'll be abandoned on the nearest moon.'" The medic quinted with a curt nod, turning towards the tablet on the side of the table, letting the light blue beams of light run over the girl.

The Terran stopped suddenly, surprised.

"Yondu was already here 'n told me to do what I could to make her better," the man replied eyes never leaving the scanner, "Thing 'bout it is, other than what the Tanarian doctor gave you when she was discharged, I've got nothin' to go on. Did she eat anythin' while you were on Knowhere?"

"She ate a bite of a vegetable dish," he paused thoughtfully remembering her adamant protests and her comical reaction to the foreign objects in the pasta dish. She had actually _hissed_ at him, not only that but her hair had stood on end which made her look a bit like a hedgehog.

"Vegetable?" the medic's surprised voice cut through his thoughts bringing him back to the present.

"Yeah, why?" he was suddenly defensive.  
>"Well, <em>that<em> explains it."

"Explains what?"

"The Onari are carnivores. They don't eat vegetables, they're considered poisonous."

"Well, shit." he breathed, chest tightening for a moment.

He looked at the girl who was now shivering, he swore he could hear her teeth chattering together. He moved to cover her with his coat, the chattering quickly stopped and she let out a small content sigh settling back down.

"Did you even bother reading the discharge information?"

"I skimmed it." he admitted with a shrug, not wanting to relay how truly nervous he had been after watching her take apart an IV and a monitor both with quickness and skill that was just a tad bit terrifying.

The fellow Ravager made a noise like a snort, "Well, the good news is that it will pass..."

"But?"

"_You _get to tell Yondu how you nearly killed her."

The Terran sighed heavily, really not wanting to face his Elder right now, much less wanting to admit that it was his fault the girl was sick.

"'N Quill?"

"Yeah?"

"Read the damn info before you try to kill her again."

* * *

><p>-Tue 1546-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Infirmary-

-Adra-

Very soft faint music coaxed her from sleep.

She stirred slightly, slowly coming to her senses. The first thing she noticed was the absence of pain, that in itself was good, really good. The second thing she noticed was the faint smell of bile and sweat. It should have bothered her more but there was the familiar musky scent that she had learned to associate with being safe. The last and final thing she noticed was the side of her head had a dull throbbing like she had been hit or hit something.

Something clicked mechanically to her right and she turned to see blurry gray next to her. She frowned, that was unusual, normally it was a red.

She stretched her legs from up under her and let the stretch grow, rolling over entire body, allowing her claws to come out slightly curling up on the blanket that covered her.

"Whoa, kiddo, watch the coat," a familiar voice said, pulling her makeshift blanket away gently.

She retracted her claws with a sigh, sitting up. The room was dimly lit, but not dim enough for her stop squinting.

She immediately noticed with disdain that the cot she was sitting on was stained.

She scowled, the action of which activated the throbbing as she moved to touch the right side of her face.

A hand stopped her.

"You fell off the bed trying to get up" he explained, something else was in his voice, was it guilt?

She raised eyebrow at him as if to say why?

"Turns out there's a uh, reason why you've never heard of vegetables before." he hesitated, looking at the floor with sudden interest after a very pregnant pause he looked up, purposefully not at her," so.. yeah."

She huffed and folded her arms across her chest, he looked up at her and knew she wasn't the least bit pleased with his explanation.

"What?" he tried to play it off not wanting to give her credit for seeing through his half-truth.

She tapped her foot on the metal floor it clanked softly, indicating that she was waiting for the full explanation.

He crossed his arms over his chest mimicking her position.

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

"You're going to lose this one, kiddo." he warned, lightly.

She narrowed her purple eyes at him.

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

"Nope."

She growled at him, the tapping of her foot quickened.

Clank, clank, clank, clank, clank, clank.

"Nu-uh."

She scowled.

"Would yew stop that damn noise?" a familiar voice resounded, causing her to freeze and her amethyst eyes went wide with something very close to fear.

He strode closer to them and gave her a smile that showed his gold teeth. Her face dropped in scowl.

"Yew ain't gonna win a battle 'o wits anytime soon missy. 'Sides I have some business with yew."

With that the Leader of the Ravagers grabbed her arm, pulling her into a standing position and proceeded to half-drag, half-walk her out.

* * *

><p>-Tue 1604-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Corridor near Engine Room-

-Peter-

He tried to keep pace of his Elder, but that the man was walking incredibly fast as they turned in the corridor nearly running over a few members of his own crew in the process.

The girl was busy trying to pry the blue skinned man's fingers loose from her arm to pay attention to where exactly she was being dragged.

Yondu halted suddenly before a door, Peter glanced at it and lamented," Dammit Yondu, she's just a kid. You can't seriously put her in the Engine Room."

"I ain't through with yew," his red eyes rested evenly on him, then turned to the struggling girl in his grip," but this one, I ain't started wit yet."

He tried not to notice the lump that was growing in his throat at the very tangible threat.

He almost preferred the threat of being eaten to this.

Almost.

The Centaurian turned his attention to the keypad, blue fingers stabbing in the code. He yanked the girl forcibly closer, she growled and tugged on her arm.

The doors opened with the languid hiss.

He cringed at the blinding yellow light that escaped from the doors.

The heat radiating from the room was damn near suffocating.

"Dammit Yondu," Peter cursed, shielding his eyes from the brightness.

"Little brat's gotta learn not to waste our time. She's costin' more units 'n she's worth. Shoulda left 'er ass on Tanaris."" came the blithe reply.

The doors slide closed, as he moved his arm back down as the doors slid closed. The heat and light both were contained, so was she.

"Let her go Yondu." he sighed heavily.

This saving her life thing nearly every day was getting really old, really fast.

"Or what?" the blue skinned man challenged darkly.

Think Pete, think.

Nope, nothing.

The Centaurian smiled knowingly, his voice had an edge to it,"Unless yew wanna take her place?"

And leave him with her? Was he nuts?

She _did _have claws, maybe she could...

"Well, clock's tickin' Quill."

Just as he was about to open his mouth with a comeback, the ship noisily powered down. The lights went out leaving them in pitch dark for a moment before there was a click and then a low humming noise. As the emergency generator kicked in. Small muted orange lights illuminated the walkway to the engine room, clicking on.

For a moment he through he saw the faint glow of purple orbs from behind the glass of the door.

He silently thanked her for her quick thinking.

The ship began to tilt alarmingly to the right, quickly descending from its orbit.

The Terran steadied himself against a beam as the ship's tilt soon became a 20 degree angle and unsecured cargo was threatening to slide did the Leader of the Ravagers comprehend what had just happened and his non existent eyebrows went up.

Recovering quickly he chuckled softly, "Well, now that changes a few things."

Turning to the doors he shouted,"Alright missy, yew can stay. Turn 'em back on."

Moments later lights came back on, the oxygen hissing loudly and the ship slowly leveled out.

Yondu tapped in the code and the doors hissed open. She stepped out coughing, one hand over her eyes other hand reaching out blindly for something to steady her. Quill reached a hand out to her and guided her to him. He noticed immediately that her hand was much warmer than it should have been.

Was her hair _smoking_?

The distinct smell of burnt hair wafted by his nose confirming it.

Great, another thing he was responsible for.

What kind of messed up guardian had he become?

"Yew made yewr point." Yondu mumbled nearly inaudibly.

Her moved her hand from her eyes, and narrowing them at the oddly defeated Centuarian. The corner of her mouth turned up into a smirk.

His Elder didn't seem to notice as rumbled,"Well missy, it seems like yew will be stayin' with us Ravagers for a while. 'N since I don't trust yew, after the stunt yew jus' pulled yew get to sleep in yewr own cell."

* * *

><p>-Wed 0905-<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Holding Cells-

-Peter-

"Com'n kiddo, we're going on a field trip."

She looked up at him with a perplexed expression as if trying to decide if this "field trip" was a good or bad thing.

"It's a supply run, but there's a marketplace and I figured you could use a few things. And since Yondu's decided to keep you here, might as well have a few things of your own."

She stood from her sitting position, placing the a few pieces of what looked like scrap metal and loose wires to the side. He didn't want to know where she had gotten it from and was very much thankful no one else had noticed.

* * *

><p>-Wed 1018-<p>

-Unathr: Marketplace -

-Peter-

"Squinting all the time is probably getting pretty old by now." he weaving them back and forth amongst the various booths stopping in front of a an eyewear vendor.

She looked at him with disbelief.

"Go on." he coaxed, lightly.

She walked up the booth and began to look intently over the various googles, and spectacles. A few of which she briefly swept her silver fingers over until she landed on a pair of grey ones.

Putting them on hesitantly and pushing them over her eyes.

The gray googles blended with her silver skin, looking as though they were simply made for her.

"Can you see?"

She nodded.

"Good."

He paid the red skinned blob of a creative and headed toward a place he knew she would like.

"Next, tools."

Her amethyst eyes glimmered with excitement. He smiled down at her

"If you're going to take things apart you might as well have the proper tools."

She animatedly looked over each tool kit and finally selected one.

It contained various wrenches, screwdrivers, a few pointy sharp tools and something that looked suspiciously like a small flame thrower.

The merchant gave him a quizzical look after seeing her select the item.

"Gift for a mechanic friend." he supplied with a shrug, paying that merchant. Who handed the rolled bunch of fabric to her.

He in turn handed it to the girl, she grunted for a moment under its weight but managed.

"And lastly, a bag. Can't have your losing stuff."

She selected the bag as well, the pouch itself as wide as she was, the strap hung across her shoulder.

Of all the colors she chose a black one.

They went back to the food section and her expression turned sour. She tried to steer him away from the area clearly remembering what had happened last time they'd made a foodstop.

"I honestly didn't know veggies were that bad for you." he confessed finally.

She scowled as if trying to say I tried to tell you.

"I know, I know. And I _am_ sorry. You're not going to let me live that down are you?"

She shook her head.

"You know, it would be a lot easier if you would talk rather than have me guess what you want." he suggested lightly.

She scowled.

"The medic said you _can_ talk, you're just choosing not to for some odd reason," he said thoughtfully, then he suddenly remembered his encounter with a very beautiful pink skinned woman whose voice was high pitched enough to crack the glass on the Milano. " Unless your voice is annoyingly shrill then I may not want to hear it."

She pushed her goggles over her head, folded her arms across her chest and flat out_ glowered_ at him.

He shivered involuntarily at the cold intensity of it.

She pushed the goggles back over her eyes seemingly satisfied with his reaction.

He had ordered some type of fried lizard dish for her, deciding it would be best to let her eat first this time more out of guilt than as a courtesy.

While they were waiting he looked down to see her silver fingers brush over the bag in admiration.

"I'm glad you like it."

She looked up at him and somewhat humbly, she muttered; "thank you."

"She speaks!" A witty little smirk twisted Peter's face, "What a show of sentience! Was that really so hard?"

She rolled her eyes and gave a deadpan reply, "Yes, I almost died from the effort."

When her food was ready he took the plate with the blue lizard carcass and led them to a table nearby.

"Your meal, m'lady." he presented the plate to her with a flourish.

He earned a scowl, but it was short lived as she became happily engrossed in her meal.

He tried not to notice how easily she tore off the fried lizard's head, the bones of the poor dead animal snapping and popping as she chewed.

She had all but finished, staring at the tail for a moment before pushing the plate away.

"You don't eat the tail?" he asked curious.

She shook her head.

"So we're back to not talking."

She shrugged and turned her attention to the contents of her bag, pulling out the cheap GPS scanner and a few of the tools.

He hesitated for a moment and then left her to get his food, which was another noodle and veggie dish. Making sure this time to sit at far end of the table so as not to offend her.

She barely seemed to notice his departure much less return, he had noticed that she now had the small flame thrower light contraption in her hands and was soldering a few pieces of metal together.

* * *

><p>- Sat 0945 -<p>

-Yondu's Ship: Docking Bay-

-Peter-

Yondu had been slowly giving her more freedom and her apparent spot of choice had been the docking bay where there was access to various scrap metal, wires, bolts and other various things.

He found her planted next to the large container with several pieces splayed out in front of her.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" he asked incredulously, leaning against the support beam closest to her as he watched her solder pieces of curved metal together.

"Shut up." she snapped, from her spot on the floor, irritation dripping from her voice.

She twisted the two wires together, connecting them to the other group of wires sticking out of the hole she had drilled into the black metallic orb. Using tweezers to push all the wires carefully inside. That finished, she set the curved metal plate over the hole and soldered it shut.

"There." She handed it to him with a small amount of satisfaction.

He looked at it for a moment, it was round, small and yet oddly light weight. So she had built something that looked oddly like...

"Is this a bomb?" he asked, his voice went comically shrill

"Well, _duh_. What did you think I was building, an alarm clock to get your sorry ass up?"

"I can't- what the _hell_ Adra. Seriously?"

"What? Figured you could use something reliable since you keep getting yourself injured."

"A bomb?"

"For the second time, yes." she hissed, indignantly," Are all Terrans so obtuse?"

There was a long pause, then a "_Hey_."

"Proving my point." she sighed, picking up the spare wires and tucking them into her black bag that was slung over her shoulder. Making sure the soldering tool and screwdriver were tucked deeper inside.

"I liked it better when you didn't talk."

"I can go back to that. Seeing as you like the sound of your own voice and all." She supplied with a shrug, fastening the clip on the bag shut and standing to stretch.

"No, I just," he looked at the orb in disbelief," It's a _bomb_."

"It's a small one, it will take out about," she tilted her head and looked at it thoughtfully for a moment, , "half a block give or take. I wouldn't be too close when it goes off. Might make your hearing tinny for a day or so. I can make one bigger if you need it."

She sounded a bit too happy to offer to make it bigger.

He was holding a bomb, _she built a freaking bomb_.

"No, not this is... good." he said uncertainly.

"Good, now go. Before Yondu sees you goofing off again."

"What are you going to do?"

"Kraglin wanted me to look at the engines, see if I can recalibrate them."

"Stay out of trouble while I'm gone?" he asked hopefully

"Not likely." she tossed him a grin before turning on her boot heel and walking away.

He sighed resigned, going back to staring at the metallic ball in his hand.

What in the world had he gotten himself into?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again I don't own GOTG, just my character Adra.**

**Leave me a ! if you liked it, or a ? if you didn't.**


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